Mobius Skies
by omegafan101
Summary: In this world, magic is a common occurance used by many people in every day life, in particular people use them to create flying boats as travel and to use to go on adventures. This story tells the tale of the crew of the Tornado and their biggest adventure to date as are sent to investigate an island and are roped into a stopping a potenially world ending scheme.
1. Home

The winds blew through Sonic's quills as he stood atop of the main mast of the Tornado, leaning to the side with one hand keeping him attached to the beam. He watched as the beautiful skies of Mobius flew past him as they flew towards adventure.

"Sonic!" he heard his name called out, looking down would reveal the source of the call to be his good friend and shipmate, Amy Rose, "How long are you planning to stay up there!?" she crossed her arms as she smiled at the blue hedgehog.

Sonic chuckled to himself as he let go and ran down the beam, leaving a trail of blue behind him and arriving in front of Amy in the matter of a second.

"I can stay up there as long as I want, thank you very much," he said, smirking.

"Well we're gonna be in Station Square soon," she said, "So I suggest you start getting ready." She walked down to the lower cabins to gather some stuff for their stop.

Sonic walked to the bow of the ship and rested against it, watching as they descended down to an open dock nearby. He watched the small city grow closer, but grew impatient quickly, tapping his foot, waiting for their arrival.

Instead of waiting any longer, Sonic sped into the hull of the ship to greet his friend, "How's it goin' first mate?" he snickered.

Tails stood at the wheel of the ship, generally acting as the Tornado's navigator, "Going just fine!" he said, "Amy tell you we'd be there soon?"

"Yeah, taking a while though."

Tails chuckled, "We're gonna be there in just a couple of minutes, you can wait that long, can't you?"

"You know me Tails, just a couple of minutes seems slow when you're as fast as I am."

Tails rolled his eyes, smiling, "Yeah, yeah, we get it. You're the fastest thing alive. Now get ready, we'll be landing soon."

Sonic made his way down to the lower cabins to meet with Amy. He found her grabbing a crate and taking it back up. Sonic crossed his arms, "Is that everything?"  
"No," Amy said, "There's still a few smaller things if you could grab those."

In an instance, Sonic found the cargo and made his way back up to the deck, soon followed by Amy, "You had better hope you didn't break any of that," She said as she placed the crate down.

"Eh, what's there to break?" Sonic said, "None of this stuff was fragile. At least I don't think so."

"Just be careful. What's up with you? You've been acting a lot more hyperactive than normal."

"I'm bored! When's the last time we got to go on a _real_ adventure!? All of our jobs have been glorified deliveries that normal people won't do."

"Well there's a lot of dangerous stuff on the way."

"Yeah, but they're barely anything! I swear it's been months since anything fun's happened. Eggman has been hiding for way too long, normally when we do this the Babylon Rogues interfere but even they've been gone a while and not even Shadow and his crew has challenged us to anything fun."

"Can't you just relax?"

"I like to relax once I've finished an adventure but only a little over a month. This is ridiculous."

"Well at least we're home now, I'm sure your mom and siblings will be excited to see you."

"Living with that family is an adventure on its own," Sonic said, chuckling.

"I'm sure, eight siblings counting Tails! I couldn't even imagine!"

"Yup," Tails said, apparently having gotten next to them at some point, "It's chaotic."

"Shouldn't you be landing us?" Sonic asked.

"Look down."

In doing so, Sonic could see that they had apparently docked, "Oh look at that! Welp, I'm going to get a chilly dog!"

Before he could Tails grabbed his arm and stopped him, "Oh no you don't. First we're going to go see mom and the others."  
"... And chili dogs after?"

"Yeah, of course. Amy? You got the cargo?"

Amy nodded, "You guys go have fun. I've got everything covered."

The two of them raced home, Sonic keeping slow to stay beside his buddy, "Hey, maybe Celia finally started talking more while we were gone!" Sonic said.

"Oh I hope so!" Tails exclaimed, "I still can't believe her first words were, 'Sonic.'"

"Hey, that kid adores me. Were you at all surprised when she said it?"

"Not in the slightest." the two of them laughed as they ran through the city, getting waves from several citizens, until they made it to their home.

Once they reached the front door, Sonic grabbed the door knob and stopped, "Alright, bets on who'll be the first one to greet us. You first."

"Hm… I'll take Sonia, Mom, Sandy and Morticia." Tails said.

"Loser buys chili dogs?"

"Oh you're on!"

Sonic opened the door to immediately find one of the other three quadruplets, his sister, Sandy. She stood in the door with a smirk and her arms crossed, "Tails wins," she said.

"Yes!"

"Aw what!? Were you listening!?" Sonic asked.

"I saw you guys flying down you dummy! Now gimme a hug!" Sandy pulled her brothers in for a group hug as they laughed to each other, "Hey everyone! The boys are back!"

"Sonic's baaaaaaack!" exclaimed the second youngest, Cherry, as she ran to her big brother and hugged his leg.

"Hey Cherry! You miss me?" Sonic said as he rubbed her head.

"What, Tails doesn't get any love?" Tails said, smiling.

"Tails is back too!" Cherry ran towards her adopted older brother and hugged his leg too.

"Welcome home boys!" said their mother, Bernadette, as she walked up to them, holding the youngest, Celia.

"Sonic! Sonic!" Celia said as she reached her hands out and made a grabbing motion at him.

"Hey Celia!" Sonic said as he took his sister from Bernadette. "It's great to see you again!"

Celia laugh as she hugged Sonic.

"Where's everyone else?" Tails asked.

"Millie and Morticia are both outside." Bernadette said.

"What about Manic and Sonia?" Sonic said.

"Believe it or not, those two got a small ship and went on their own adventure," Sandy said.

"Oh no way! Good for them!"

"I'll go get the girls." Tails said as he went to the back yard.

"So," Sandy started, "How's your girlfriend."

Sonic sighed in annoyance, "For the last time, Amy is not my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, I know but I like to annoy you. How is she?"  
"Oh you know, she's Amy. She's fine as she's ever been."

"Well look who's back!" Sonic's sister, Millie, said as she walked in, "How've you been!?"

"Millie! I've been great! Better now that I'm home!"

"We're glad you're home too, Sonic." Morticia said, smiling innocently.

"Please tell me you won't be leaving again soon." Cherry said.

"We'll be around for a little while but we're gonna have to go on another adventure soon." Tails said.

"Don't call them adventures," Sonic said as he put Celia down, "They're nowhere near enough fun to be adventures."

"Oh quit your whining."

There was suddenly a knock at the door, "Who could that be?" Bernadette asked.

"Amy, I'd guess." Sonic said.

Tails opened the door for Amy, "Hey everyone!" she said, "I've got good news! I found us a new job and it sounds pretty interesting!"

"Aw…" Cherry whined, "You guys aren't gonna leave are you?"

"Of course not," Sonic said, "We'll stick around for awhile before we leave," he rubbed her head before he turned to Amy, "Well what is it?"

"Hard to explain," Amy said, "It's probably better if we go see the client."

"Chili dogs first, then we see the job."

"Sounds like a plan!" Tails said.

"Thank god, I'm starving. Be back in a couple hours everybody!" he said as he waved and followed Amy out the door, Tails trailing close behind him.

The Tornado crew were mere hours from getting a simple job that would spiral into something incredible.


	2. The Chaos Emerald

"This is the place," Amy said as they stood in front of a small building.

"What was the name of the client?" Tails asked.

"I think it was Relic. She didn't give many details, said she'd give more once we came over."

Sonic finished up his leftover chili dog and popped his fingers in his mouth to clean up the mess of chili he had left, "Sounds suspicious," he said.

"She didn't seem to have any bad intentions. I think she just didn't have any time to explain," Amy said as she knocked on the door.

The door was opened by a little wooden model painted yellow and orange with glowing green eyes, "Hello," he said.

"Oh wow!" Tails said, "A magic drone! It's rare that I get to see any that aren't trying to kill me."

"You're not Relic," Amy said.

"Ah! You are looking for Madam Relic?" the little drone said, "You must be the adventurers she asked for. My name is Fixit," Fixit bowed to the trio as he stepped aside and let them in, "Madam Fixit is in her lab if you wish to find her."

"Thanks little guy," Amy said.

"You think he'll let me examine him?" Tails asked.

"I don't know, maybe," Sonic said.

"Omega never lets me get a look at him but I've always wanted to examine a drone."

"Yeah, we know, buddy."

The three of them entered a room filled with magical items and some devices. Standing at a desk mumbling to herself was a blue pika wearing a shoulderless, black bodysuit and a brown jacket.

"Uh. Relic?" Amy called out.

"Hm?" Relic turned around and faced the crew, "Oh it's you three! The crew of the Hurricane, right?" she spoke with an english accent.

"Uh, Tornado, actually," Tails corrected.

"Right, right, right the Tornado! Terribly sorry, very similar those two. I'm sure there are plenty of differences but I don't exactly study weather so I wouldn't know it. Very nice name for a ship the Tornado! Oh geez I'm babbling aren't I? Right. Stop it. Hello! My name is Relic the Pika!" she held out her hand to Sonic and Tails.

"Very nice to meet you Relic!" Tails said, shaking her hand, "My name is Tails and this is Sonic."

"Good to meet yah," Sonic said, "Lotta equipment here huh?"

"Oh most of it isn't mine," Relic said, "I only study magical items and the history behind them. My partner, Starline, is the one who studies all the energy and stuff. He's out right now but he's not important to this. I need the three of you to go on a sort of recon mission for me."

"Cool, sounds fun," Sonic said sarcastically, getting punched in the arm by Amy in response.

"What are we looking for?" Amy asked.

"Well recently, I came across this little beauty," Relic pulled out a red gem shaped like a diamond.

"Woah…" Tails said as he stared at it.

"What is it?" Sonic asked.

"Based on my research, I've found that this is called a Chaos Emerald. A powerful, ancient and magical artifact that when harnessed can do amazing things! From what I understand, there are several other gems just like it and combining them can do something incredible! But that's not what you're here for. Or, maybe it is. I'm a little unsure. While I was studying this thing it started glowing, it was almost like it was pointing me to something, but I couldn't figure out what. Starline actually managed to use its energy to find something!" Relic activated her magic monitor and showed a map that lead to an island, "That island has never been charted by anyone! It's completely new! And it's connected to the Chaos Emerald somehow. So, I want you three to take the emerald, go to this island and see what you can find out about it! I'd go with you but I don't know how dangerous it might be…"

"Huh. Well this all sounds good to me!" Amy said as she took the emerald from Relic, "How about you guys?"

"You know what?" Sonic said, "This actually sounds kinda fun! A journey to an unexplored island with unknown dangers and a connection to a powerful artifact! Now this sounds like the adventure I've been waiting for!"

"Then it's settled!" Tails said, "We'll leave in a month!"

"Marvelous!" Relic exclaimed, "Wait, why a month?"

"Well we just got back. We need to get the ship ready, spend time with family and friends, plan how we're gonna get there, stuff like that. Is that okay?"

"Oh it's just fine! I don't have a deadline or anything. You three enjoy your free time and I'll be waiting for when you're ready!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Sonic said, giving Relic a thumbs up and a wink.

* * *

A month had passed and Sonic and the crew were loading up the last bit of supplies for their trip.

"Do you have to go so soon, dear?" Bernadette asked, she and Sonic's sisters having come to see them off.

"I'll be back in no time, Mom," Sonic said.

"Hey Sonic!" Tails called, "We're all loaded up and ready to go!"

"Welp! Gotta run! Say hi to Sonia and Manic for me!" Sonic ran up the ramp and pulled it up as Tails took off. He waved down to his family as they went off on another adventure.

"Excited?" Amy asked.

"Sure am! You got that Chaos Emerald?"

"Right here," Amy pulled the emerald out of her bag and handed it to Sonic.

"What do you think this thing could do? I mean if you harnessed it like Relic said?"

"Maybe it grants a wish?" Tails said, joining in on the conversation, letting the Tornado sail forward on its own.

"What like a genie?" Amy asked.

"I don't know. I'm just giving ideas. Hopefully the island will have some answers."

"I'm not into this magic study stuff but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested in this," Sonic said.

"How long's the trip again?" Amy asked.

"Based on Relic's map," Tails said, "It should take at most two weeks there. So we should be gone for about a month."

"Strap in for quite a journey then," Sonic said, putting his arms behind his head.

"Maybe we'll run into the Dark Crew," Amy said.

"Is that what you're calling them now?" Sonic said, chuckling.

"Actually it was Rouge's idea. I don't think she told Shadow and Omega though."

"Well I hope we see them, Shadow owes me another race."

"We can't get distracted you two," Tails said, "We have a long trip ahead of us so we should try to stop as little as possible."

* * *

A few hours had passed as the Crew waited patiently to either get to their destination or something interesting to happen.

"You guys hungry?" Amy asked.

"Starved!" Sonic exclaimed.

"I'll go grab us some food," Amy walked down to the lower cabin to grab some food.

"What do you think Manic and Sonia are doing?" Tails asked.

"Arguing with each other," Sonic said.

Tails laughed, "You're probably right."

The nice chat was suddenly interrupted as they heard Amy scream from the cabin. Sonic and Tails looked at each other for a moment before rushing down to see if she was okay.

"Amy! What happened!?" Sonic asked.

"Are you okay!?" Tails continued.

Amy was standing in a room filled with supply crates with her hand on her face, looking annoyed, "I'm fine," she said, "Just… Startled. And pretty disappointed."

"Uh…" Sonic started, exchanging a glance with Tails, "Why…?"

Amy let out a sigh before calling out, "You can come out, I know you're in here!"

There was a couple beats of silence before two long, orange and cream colored ears popped up from behind a crate. They moved as the owner of the ears came out from behind it, revealing a familiar looking bunny girl.

"Cream!?" Sonic and Tails exclaimed.

"Hi everyone…" Cream said, looking guilty as she looked down.

"When did you even get on!?" Tails asked, "I didn't even see you get on!"  
"Cheese and I have gotten better at being stealthy!" she said, perking up a little. Her statement was soon followed by a little blue chao flying out of a nearby crate.

"Cheese is here too!?" the three said at the same time.

"You two can't be here," Amy said, "Your mother must be worried sick!"

"I can defend myself!" Cream said, "And mama said it was okay!"

"Really? Vanilla said it was okay for you to come with us?"

Cream nodded, "I promise, Amy! Please let me stay! I want to go on an adventure with you all!" Cheese chimed in with a _Chao chao!_

"We've already been going for nearly half a day," Tails said, "It'd be a pretty big detour to turn around now."

"We can't just take her with us!" Amy said.

"Sure we can!" Sonic said, "She's stronger than she looks. Plus she'll have the three of us to protect her if anything goes wrong."

Amy turned back to Cream and Cheese to see them both giving her puppy dog eyes and their hands folded, begging to stay. Amy groaned, "Fine, you guys can stay."

"Yay!" Cream exclaimed, "Thank you Amy! You too Mr. Sonic and Mr. Tails!" Cream hugged Amy as she giggled with joy.

Amy chuckled, "I guess having you around won't be so bad," she rubbed Creams head as she smiled.

"I guess we're a team of four now," Sonic said.


	3. Emeralds and Islands

A few days had passed since the crew set off. Sonic was standing at the bow of the ship, leaning against the front and looking out at the sky before him.

"What are you doing, Mr. Sonic?" Cream asked, approaching Sonic from behind.

"Oh you know, just relaxing," Sonic said, "What about you? Enjoying your little adventure so far?"

Cream nodded, "I am, Mr. Sonic! Thanks for letting me come!"

"Well, this was your most successful stowaway attempt yet, I think you deserved it," Sonic laughed.

Cream joined Sonic in looking at the horizon as they relaxed for a moment.

"It's very peaceful up here," Cream said.

"Yeah, kid. It sure is," Sonic said, letting out a relaxed sigh. He rested his head on his hands but soon raised it again as his eyes widened, "Might get a little less peaceful though…" In the distance was a large black and red ship, slowly approaching the Tornado. Sonic smirked and cracked his knuckles, "Good ole' Shadow."

"What's going on, Mr. Sonic?" Cream asked.

"Cream, you're about to meet a few good frenemies of ours. Hey Tails! Slow us down! We've got some visitors approaching!"

"Aye aye, captain!" Tails exclaimed as he slowed the ship down, putting the ship on their port side.

Sonic smiled and crossed his arms as he looked up at his friendly rival, Shadow the hedgehog, perched atop the sail of the ship, staring down at the blue hedgehog with his normal, serious face.

Sonic put his hands around his mouth, "Someone's being overdramatic!" he called out. Shadow didn't respond as he looked away.

"Hey everyone!" Rouge called out, waving and giving Sonic a sly smile as they came to a stop beside them, "Mind if we hop on!?"

"Not at all!" Amy said, having just come up from the cabin, "Hop on over! We need to catch up!"

Rouge flew from her ship to the Tornado and turned to look back at Shadow, "Stop brooding and get down here already!" she called out.

Shadow scowled before jumping down from the said and making his way over to the Tornado.

"It's great to see you again!" Amy said, hugging Rouge.

"Amy Rose it has been too long!" Rouge said as she returned the hug.

"Hey Shadow!" Sonic said as Shadow approached him, "Long time no see!"

Shadow said nothing, only letting out a "Hmph, as he crossed his arms and looked away.

"As cheery as ever I see…" Sonic said.

Shadow returned his gaze to Sonic when he noticed the small bunny girl standing beside Sonic, "Who's this?" he asked.

"My name is Cream, sir! Cream the Rabbit! It's very nice to meet you!" Cream smiled innocently at the black hedgehog.

Shadow looked down at the girl for a moment before responding, "It's nice to meet you too, Cream. I'm Shadow the Hedgehog."

"So, what are you guys up to?" Tails asked.

There was a loud boom as Omega jumped onto the Tornado, "Mission status: Classified," he said.

"Ah, the pilot exits from his domain!" Rouge said.

Omega was made of wood with plenty of armor plating all over his body. His eyes glowed red with magic. Omega was previously one of Dr. Eggman's special ship drones. His smaller, more humanoid body was what he used to be in public and fight but the ship Team Dark used was also a part of Omega.

"I'm afraid he's right though," Rouge said, "Mission is top secret, sorry. What about you guys?"

"We're looking for an uncharted island!" Cream said.

"Uncharted?" Shadow asked, "So what, are you just sailing around until you find some random island?"

"Not exactly," Sonic said, "See, _we_ know where the island is, but it's not on any maps."

"And just how do you know where it is?" Rouge asked.

"Tails, if you could?"

Tails nodded and pulled the Chaos Emerald out of his bag, "Tadah!" he exclaimed.

Rouge gasped, "That's a…"

"A Chaos Emerald," Shadow finished.

"Wait, you know what this is!?" Amy asked, shocked.

Shadow simply responded by pulling out a purple gem, identical to their Chaos Emerald in every way but color.

"Relic was right…" Tails said.

"Where did you get that?" Shadow asked.

"Our client gave it to us!" Sonic said, "It showed her the island already, we're just going to go find it."

The two stared at each other for a moment before Shadow spoke up, "I'm going to need that emerald."

"No way, Shadow. We need this."

"Fine then," Shadow threw his emerald to Rouge and got into a fighting stance, "We'll do this the hard way."

"Just the way I like it." Sonic smirked as he too got into a fighting stance. The two of them stared at each other from opposite sides of the ship, both waiting for the other to start.

Before either could though, Rouge stepped in, "Hold on you two! Can we not do this!?"

"We need that emerald, Rouge," Shadow said.

"Do we really!?" Rouge exclaimed, receiving a confused look from Shadow.

"What do you need it for anyway?" Tails asked.

"As previously stated. That is classified," Omega stated.

"It's alright, Omega," Rouge said, "We've been hired to track and stop the plans of a sort of organization that's been doing a good job of keeping themselves hidden. We don't know much about them, but we do know they need the seven Chaos Emeralds. So we figured we'd collect them and keep them safe."

"Which is why we need that Chaos Emerald," Shadow stated.

"Shadow. It's Sonic, Tails and Amy."

"And Cream!" Cream chimed in.

"And Cream. If it was anyone else I'd agree with you, but if anyone is capable of keeping this thing out of the wrong hands, it's these guys."

Shadow stood for a moment, pondering his friend's words, before he relaxed his body and went back to standing normally, "Fine," he said, "They can keep the emerald. But keep it safe."

"You know we will!" Amy said.

"Honestly, your guys' job sounds way more fun!" Sonic said, "Maybe we could help out!"  
"Sonic," Tails said in a stern tone, "We're already committed to this job."

"Yeah," Amy agreed, "And I don't want to get Cream mixed up in something like that."

Sonic groaned, "Fine! Don't beat the bad guys till we're done you guys."

"No promises," Shadow said.

"Come on, we should get going," Amy said, "We've wasted enough time already."

"See you all next time!" Rouge said as the three of them boarded their ship again.

Cream waved to the three of them as they sailed away from each other, "Bye Mr. Shadow! Bye Miss Rouge! Bye Mr. Omega!"

"Well that could have been bad," Amy said.

"Why'd she have to stop us!? I wanted a good fight!" Sonic said.

"It would have damaged the ship way to much, so I'm very glad she stopped you."

* * *

Two weeks had gone by since the crew had left, now nearing their destination. The Tornado flew over a vast ocean as they searched for the island.

"Keep your eyes out everyone!" Tails said, "We should be getting there soon!"

"You'd think we'd see something by now," Sonic said, "At least in the distance, but no! It's nothing but ocean!"

"Be patient, Sonic," Amy stated.

"I'm not impatient, I'm just… Anxious…"

"Oh right, fear of water. Cream you see anything!?"

"No, not yet, Amy!"

"Hey, Ames! Take a look at this!" Sonic called.

Amy approached Sonic and followed his gaze, "What's up?" she asked.

"She that shadow down there?" he pointed to a large shadow that could be vividly seen in the water, "Pretty large and island shaped."

"You don't think it's under water do you?"

"If it is, I'm out. No way am I doing anything under water."

"Hey Amy, Mr. Sonic." Cream called out.

"What's up, Cream?" Amy asked.

The two turned to Cream and saw her looking up in the sky. She pointed upwards to draw their attention. They both looked upwards and were shocked to see what they found. Suspended several miles in the sky was the source of the shadow. A large, floating island.

"Uh, Tails!?" Sonic called, "We found it!"

"Wait what!?" he responded, "Where!?"

"Look up!"

The fox listened and looked up, "Holy crap!"

"I had no idea that was possible…" Amy said in disbelief.

"Relic's gonna love this…" Sonic said, "Take us up, Tails."

"You got it…" Tails said as he pulled a lever that caused the ship to float directly upwards.

* * *

"Welp, we did it guys!" Sonic said, "Welcome to an uncharted island! Floating in the sky, apparently."

Tails had docked the Tornado on a nearby beach on the edge of the island.

"From up top this place looked amazing," Tails said, "It's got all sorts of weird places!"

"I think I saw a forest of mushrooms!" Amy said.

"So, what do we call it?" Sonic asked.

"Oh yeah! I guess we did discover it! It's ours to name!"

"Well what if there turns out to be people living here?" Tails asked.

"We'll just name it so we have something to call it," Sonic said, "I was thinking, 'Cloud Island.'"

"Kinda simple, but works for me."

"I like it, Mr. Sonic!" Cream said.

"Hey, did anyone notice the big temple in the center?" Amy asked.

"Kinda hard to miss," Sonic said, "It looked really important. Think we should head over there?"

"Probably the best idea," Tails said, "Maybe we'll get some info on the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Maybe we'll find _more_ Chaos Emeralds!" Amy said.

"I knew this would be fun!" Sonic exclaimed, "I'm all kinds of worked up! Come on! Let's get going!" Sonic raced forward leaving a streak of blue behind him as he ran into the island's mysteries.

"Hey! Wait up, Sonic!" Amy followed him as fast as she could, leaving her own streak of pink.

"Amy! Mr. Sonic! Wait up!" Cream called out as she and Cheese followed them.

"We're not as fast as you!" Tails screamed as he followed Cream.


	4. The Guardian

The crew stood before the steps of a large altar, a faint, green glow coming from the top. The crew of the Tornado looked at it with wonder and curiosity.

"This thing is big…" Amy said.

"This has to have something important right!?" Sonic asked, "Come on! Let's go check it out!" in a matter of seconds, the blue blur ran up the long flight of stairs and arrived at the top. He let out a small gasp at his discovery. Before him was what looked like yet another chaos emerald, a green one this time and more importantly, huge. Probably big enough to climb onto and sit on, "Hey guys!" Sonic called, "You're definitely gonna want to see this!"

The remaining three came up quickly, each gasping at the large emerald, "Oh my god!" Tails exclaimed, "It's huge!"

"Relic's gonna love to hear about this!" Amy exclaimed.

"Do you think we can get it on the ship?" Sonic asked.

"As much as I want to," Tails said, "I don't see how we could possibly move it!"

"We'll just work together! Might a while but-" before Sonic could continue, he was suddenly cut off as a fist slammed into the right side of his face, sending him flying into one of the pillars of the altar.

"Sonic!" Amy called out as she ran to him, closely followed by Cream.

Tails turned to the assailant, some kind of red animal that he didn't quite recognize with large fists clenched and raised, ready to fight.

"What do you want with the Master Emerald!?" he yelled out.

"What did you do that for!?" Tails yelled back.

"I'm gonna ask this once, who are you and what are you doing here!?"

"Calm down you knucklehead!" Sonic exclaimed as Amy helped him up.

"How do you know my name!"

Sonic stopped for a moment and stared at him, "Your name is Knucklehead!?"

"No! My name is Knuckles! Knuckles the Echidna! I am the guardian of Angel Island and the Master Emerald! Now answer my question!"

Tails' eyes widened, "You're an echidna…?" he asked, "I didn't think there were any left…"

"... There aren't… I'm all that's left… Now I'm gonna give you one more chance! Answer the questions or fight me!"

"My name is Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic spoke up, "This is Tails, Amy and Cream. We're the crew of the ship, the Tornado and we were sent here on a job."

"You were hired to steal the Master Emerald!?"

"Woah! Woah! Calm down! We were simply sent to get some information. Our client discovered this island thanks to a Chaos Emerald and we just wanted to see what it was all about."

"You said you were going to take it!"

"Truth be told, we _were_ going to! But-"

Knuckles yelled out as he charged towards Sonic, his fist raised. Sonic zipped to the side as Knuckles' fist slammed into the pillar, leaving a large imprint, "Would you listen to me!?" Sonic yelled out.

Not wasting a second, Knuckles swung into Sonic face and sent him flying off of the altar and into the jungle below. As Knuckles watched to see where he landed, Amy let out a "Hiyah!" and swung her hammer into the back of the echidna's head, sending him flying in the same direction of Sonic.

Sonic groaned as he rubbed his cheek and stood up, he screamed in surprise as Knuckles landed right in front of him. Knuckles quickly stood up and swung a flurry of strikes at Sonic, who dodged them all swiftly, eventually swinging his leg around for a roundhouse kick and knocking Knuckles to the ground.

Knuckles growled and slammed his fist to the ground, standing up and readying to fight again, "Hey knucklehead, I know you wanna fight me," Sonic said, "But you realize you left all three of my friends with your emerald right?"

Knuckles' expression of anger instantly shifted to one of surprise, immediately turning around and running up the stairs, "Get your hands off the Master Emerald- Huh?" Knuckles stopped in his tracks as he saw the Master Emerald untouched.

"I was trying to tell you," Sonic said as he came behind Knuckles, "We didn't know anyone lived on this island, if you're guarding it, then we won't take it."

The rest of the crew nodded in response, "All we want is some information on it," Tails said, "Like what is it, and how is it connected to the Chaos Emeralds?"

Knuckles realizing they weren't here for a fight, lowered his fist and stood upright, calming down, "Fine. Truth be told, I don't know much about the Master Emerald or its connection to the seven Chaos. My people left me to guard the Master Emerald years ago before they were wiped out. I've been alone on Angel Island ever since."

"Oh dear…" Cream said, "I'm so sorry, Mr. Knuckles."

"Dang," Sonic said, "Guess we're gonna have to go back to Relic empty handed."

"Empty handed!?" Amy said, "We discovered a floating island, the name of it, there are _seven_ Chaos Emeralds, an even bigger _Master_ Emerald and the guardian of it is the last of the Echidnas! I think we've got quite a bit of information."

"Yeah I know, but now I'm all curious about these Chaos Emeralds. Plus there's that group Rouge said was looking for them."

"Well you can't take the Master Emerald," Knuckles said, "Like I said, I don't know much about it, but what I do know is that if it's removed from the island or broken, Angel Island will fall from the sky."

"Trust us, we _definitely_ don't want to do that," Tails said.

"Why would we?" Cream asked, "It's such a pretty island!"

"Well, since you've got what you need, get off my island," Knuckles said as he leaned against the Master Emerald, closing his eyes and crossing his arms.

"He seems moody," Sonic said, prompting Amy to lightly punch him in the arm and give him a stern look, "What!?" he asked.

"Come on guys," Tails said, "Let's start heading home. We've got a lot of info for Relic."

Some time later, the Tornado took off and turned around, making a slight descent as it made its way back the way it came. Unbeknownst to the crew, though they had been followed. As they flew away, a small, black skiff decloaked, as a single figure, wearing black armor with light purple accents, watched the Tornado fly away and turned their gaze to the island.


	5. Shade

The Tornado drifted quietly through the night as Sonic stared at the Chaos Emerald in his hand, leaning against the front of the ship.

"What're you thinking about?" Amy asked as she approached him.

Sonic shrugged as he responded, "Eh, seeing that big emerald-"

"Master Emerald," Amy corrected.

"Right. Seeing that Master Emerald just got me so curious about these things. Where on Mobius did they come from, what can they do and why are people looking for them?"

"Maybe Relic can help us answer those questions."

"Here's hoping. I want a _real_ adventure."

* * *

All was quiet on Angel Island as Knuckles lay atop his precious Master Emerald, his arms crossed behind his head as he rested, letting his guard down. His ear twitched as he heard something, something quiet but still something. He opened one of his eyes and looked at the forrest around him. Seeing nothing, he opened both eyes and sat up, getting a better look. Still seeing nothing, Knuckles closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, concentrating. He let his other senses take complete control, as he sensed the presence of a figure slowly making their way to the altar.

Knuckles' eyes shot wide open as he immediately launched himself off of the Master Emerald, slamming his right fist into the ground beneath him, right where he sensed the figure. He looked up and for a moment, became confused. There was no one there.

However, in mere seconds, the figure in question decloaked standing up straight after having braced themselves and narrowly dodging the Echidna's attack.

Knuckles stood up straight as well, pointing his fist at the stranger, "I'm going to ask this once. Who are you! And what are you doing here!?"

The stranger stood silent for a moment, then another and then another, simply staring at Knuckles.

"Answer me!"

They quickly darted to the side, attempting to get around Knuckles and get to the altar. Knuckles acted quick, cutting her off and taking a few swings at the armor clad intruder. They dodged them all and ducked down, swiping at Knuckles' legs and knocking him to the ground. They quickly darted back for the altar but were quickly knocked down by Knuckles, who grabbed their leg. Knuckles stood up and slammed his fist down at the stranger, who rolled out of the way and performed a kip up, getting to their feet and readying themselves. Knuckles charged at them again and was once again dodged, followed by the stranger striking at him, but their attacks were blocked until they swung their knee up and managed to strike Knuckles in the jaw. They reared their fist back and brought it into Knuckles' gut, but moments before the attack landed, Knuckles grabbed their arm. Before the stranger could react, Knuckles brought his fist to the side of their head and used their arm to slam them to the ground, pressing his other fist against their chest to pin them down.

"Now answer me!" he yelled out.

A moment passed and the stranger finally surrendered their identity, "I am Shade," she said, "And I need your emerald for something far greater than either of us!"

Shade gripped Knuckles' wrist with her free hand as her own wrist began to glow pink, Knuckles wrist was suddenly covered in the glow as it leached a small amount of his life away. Knuckles yelled out in pain and accidentally loosened his grip, allowing Shade to quickly push him off of her and get back up, making a beeline for the Altar. As she climbed up the stairs Knuckles came from behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders, throwing her back down the stairs and onto the ground below. Shade got up and charged the echidna, hitting him with a flurry of weaker but calculated strikes, some were blocked but most hit. She finished with a roundhouse kick to the face and sent Knuckles sliding to the ground. Before she could get back to the altar, Knuckles slammed both his fists to the ground as hard as he could and caused the ground to shake a crack slightly, putting Shade off balance as Knuckles got back up. With Shade dazed, Knuckles hit her with four strong punches, one to her face, two to her gut and then another to her face, starting to crack her helmet. He yelled out as he reared both his fists back and slammed them against her face with enough force to break her helmet into pieces.

Shade flew backwards and landed hard against the ground, groaning as she started to pull off the remains of her now broken helmet. Knuckles slowly approached her to stop her from getting up and make sure she left the island, but was stopped in his tracks as Shade turned around and showed him her face.

"You're… You're an Echidna…?" he asked, completely shocked.

Using the opportunity, Shade threw a small device at her opponent, causing a small explosion that knocked Knuckles back. By the time he had gotten his baring and stood up, Shade was at the top of the altar, stood beside the Master Emerald.

"If I knew that was all it took," she said, "I would have done it a lot sooner," she stared at Knuckles as she planted an explosive device on the Emerald.

"NO!" Knuckles screamed out. But it was too late. Shade jumped from the altar as the explosion went off, destroying the Master Emerald and sending shards all across Mobius.

Knuckles stared in disbelief as the item he was tasked with protecting broke apart. Shock turning to extreme rage, he turned to Shade and yelled, "What have you done!? You destroyed the Master Emerald!"

"I've done more than that," she said, "I've unleashed a god."

Knuckles turned back to the now crumbling altar to see what she was talking about. Where the Master Emerald once was, a small, orange light floated out, soon followed by a being made entirely out of water like energy rising from the remains, its only other traits being the glowing green eyes and the brain that could be seen inside.

"What… What is that!?" Knuckles yelled.

"That is Chaos!" Shade exclaimed, "The god of destruction!"

Knuckles and Shade stumbled as the islands shook, "Do you know what you've done!?" Knuckles yelled, "Without the Master Emerald, Angel Island will fall into the ocean!"

Shade said nothing as she turned and ran as fast as she could back to her skiff, needing to get off the island quickly.

Still enraged, Knuckles turned to Chaos, only to find him fall into a puddle and flee, quickly escaping Knuckles' sight. Having lost both his enemies, Knuckles braced himself as the island began to plummet from the sky, crashing into the ocean and causing massive waves to form around it.

* * *

Sonic, examining the Chaos Emerald again, was thrown back in surprise as it started glowing, showing him a vision inside of the emerald. Sonic's eyes widened as he saw the once magnificent floating island fall, mere hours after they had left it.

"Tails! Turn us around!" he yelled.

"What!? Why!?" Tails asked.

"Angel Island just fell from the sky!"

"What!?" Amy said.

"Oh no!" Cream exclaimed.

"How do you know!?" Amy asked.

"The Chaos Emerald just gave me a vision or something," Sonic said, "I don't know whether it _just _happened or is _going_ to happen, but we have to go back and help."

"Aye aye captain!" Tails said as he spun the wheel and turned them around, "Everyone hang on! I'm getting us there fast!" Tails put his hand to a lever and pushed it forward as far as it would go, causing the Tornado to speed up as it flew towards Angel Island once again.

"I don't understand," Sonic said to himself, "How could this happen?"


End file.
